The coming of the white men which heralded colonization of Nigeria also brought western education to the country. The first schools were primary and secondary schools before institutions of higher learning were later established.

The oldest polytechnic in Nigeria happens to be Yaba Tech, although it had a series of metamorphosis before arriving at it’s current name and structure.

It started as Yaba Higher College in 1934 and fourteen years later, the Yaba Higher College students were then moved to another state to create the University of Ibadan in 1948. A year before the transfer, the Yaba Higher College was then restructured to become Yaba Technical Institute as a successor to the Yaba Higher College.

Which is The Oldest Polytechnic in Nigeria?

The structure of trainings in the college then, was to simply bring together the different training departments of the different public offices. Example in the Marine sector, railways, post and telegraph, land and survey, etc.

As time went on, students were not comfortable with it being called Yaba Technical Institute and moved for a change to the current name which was then adopted in 1963 as Yaba Tech. Thirteen years after that, the name was changed to Federal Polytechnic Yaba, but within a year, it reverted to the former name Yaba Tech.

Yaba Tech since it’s establishment, has sought to structurally and humanly develop the nation’s youth in technology, commerce, agriculture management and other technical applied learning fields that would make the country better.

Currently, the institution has about six divisions called schools which are each headed by a dean and runs over thirty six courses that involves applied learning.
Even though it is known as the oldest polytechnic in Nigeria, Yaba Tech has not been static, but daily developing for the betterment of the country.